#embraceindividuality medias

Step I
The first step of Voice Therapy involves vocalizing your self-critical thoughts in the second person. You can also write down these thoughts. Instead of writing “I am so stupid. What is the matter with me? I’ll never be successful,” you would write, “You are so stupid. You will never be successful.” This process helps you to separate from these vicious attacks by seeing them as an external enemy instead of your real point of view. This process can also be an emotional one, as saying these statements can bring up underlying feelings from the past.
Step II
In the second step, you can start to think and talk about the insights and reactions you have to exposing these mean thoughts. Do they remind you of anyone or anything from your past? It can be helpful to uncover the relationship between these voice attacks and the early life experiences that helped shape them. This too will allow you to feel some self-compassion and reject these attitudes as accurate reflections of who you are.
Step III
People often struggle with the third step of this process, because it involves standing up to long-held beliefs and insecurities about oneself. You will answer back to your voice attacks, expressing your real point of view. You can write down rational and realistic statements about how you really are. Respond to your attacks the way you would to a friend who was saying these things about him or herself, with compassion and kindness.
Step IV
In step five of Voice Therapy, you start to make a connection between how the voice attacks are influencing your present-day behaviors. How do they affect you at work? With your partner? As a parent? In your personal ambitions? Do they undermine you? What events trigger the insecurity? In what areas is this insecurity most influential?
Step V
The final step involves making a plan to change these behaviors. If insecurity is keeping you from asking someone on a date or going after a promotion, it’s time to do the actions anyway. If you’re indulging in self-hating thoughts that encourage you to engage in self-destructive behaviors, it’s time to interrupt these behaviors and unleash the real you.
#embraceindividuality

2. “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” The Effect of Insecurity
It’s clear that there are many things that shape our critical inner voice, from negative attitudes directed toward us to attitudes our parents had toward themselves. As we get older, we internalize these points of view as our own. We keep these attitudes alive by believing in our insecurities as we go along in life. The most common critical inner voices found people to experience throughout their day include:
1You’re stupid.
2You’re unattractive.
3You’re not like other people.
4You’re a failure.
5You never get anything right.
6No one will ever love you.
7You’re fat.
8You’re such a loser.
9You’ll never make friends.
10You’ll never be able to quit drinking (smoking etc). 11You’ll never accomplish anything.
12What’s the point in even trying?
Oftentimes, we react to these thoughts before we even realize we are having them. We may grow shy at a party, pull back from a relationship, project these attacks onto the people around us or act out toward a friend, partner or our children. Just imagine what life would be like if you didn’t hear any of these mean thoughts echo in your head. Imagine what reality might actually look like if you could live free of this prescribed insecurity.
How Can I Overcome Insecurity?
Once we have a better sense of where our insecurity comes from and the profound influence it is having on our lives, we can begin to challenge it. We can start by interrupting the critical inner voice process. Voice Therapy is a cognitive/affective/behavioral approach developed by Dr. Robert Firestone to help people overcome their critical inner voice. There are five important steps to this process, which I will briefly outline. 📷 : @daviddunhamimages
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#quoteoftheday#newzealand#modelling#newzealandlife#newzealandlandscape#mentalhealthawareness#depression#beautifulanxiety#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#bloggerstyle#bloggersofinstagram#insecurities#selflove#selfhelp#selfcare

1. How to work through your insecurities:
We are called a narcissistic generation. We are told that technology and social media are giving us an inflated sense of self. But most of us don’t walk around feeling like we are all that great. In fact, there is one underlying emotion that is overwhelmingly shaping our self-image and influences our behavior, and that is insecurity. If you could enter the minds of people around you, even the narcissistic ones, you’re likely to encounter waves of insecurity. Women especially are known to experience hurtful, self-critical thoughts on a weekly basis.
Upon my reasearch I have come to notice that the most common self-critical thought people have toward themselves is that they are different – not in a positive sense, but in some negative, alienating way. Whether our self-esteem is high or low, one thing is clear; we are a generation that compares, evaluates and judges ourselves with great scrutiny. By understanding where this insecurity comes from, why we are driven to put ourselves down and how this viewpoint affects us, we can start to challenge and overcome the destructive inner critic that limits our lives.
Why am I so insecure? What causes insecurity?
There is an internal dialogue that accompanies our feelings of insecurity. This is called the critical inner voice. Definition: "The critical inner voice is formed out of painful early life experiences in which we witnessed or experienced hurtful attitudes toward us or those close to us. As we grow up, we unconsciously adopt and integrate this pattern of destructive thoughts toward ourselves and others.” 📷 : @daviddunhamimages
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#quoteoftheday#newzealand#modelling#newzealandlife#newzealandlandscape#mentalhealthawareness#depression#beautifulanxiety#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#bloggerstyle#bloggersofinstagram#insecurities#selflove#selfhelp#selfcare

AT OUR NEXT EVENT: Special guest Rick Erkeneff @rickoray of the Surfrider foundation talks on our most precious resource, WATER - conservation, surfing, and the future. This talk is gonna be so rad!
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ALSO: Our new CreativeMornings OC Scout Book will be available. It’s limited edition, so make sure to come to get yours!!
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Tickets go live this coming Monday, event next Friday, March 29th, 8am!
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@ The Palm Court Arts Complex (Art Gallery) at the Great Park, Irvine
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Day eighteen: a family photo :) my uncle and cousin
2. Tackle Your Problems
If you're dealing with a stressful situation, don't stew in self-pity or waste energy pointing blame at someone else. That just makes you feel less powerful. Instead, it makes sense to:
Write down the problems involved. On paper they may seem more manageable than swirling in your head.
List as many solutions as possible. For now, silence your internal judge. You can reject options later.
Assess your list. Try asking yourself how you'd like this situation to end. Which options likely will get you there? You also can weigh pros and cons.
Accept reasonably good solutions. Research suggests that searching for a perfect option breeds disappointment.
Once you pick some solutions, break them into reasonable chunks and make a concrete plan. You might set yourself some specific deadlines too.
Don't get discouraged if the first solution you try doesn't pan out. Try another one on your list.
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#quoteoftheday#portraitphotography#familyfun#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#southafrica

1. HOW COPING TOOLS HELP
At some point in our lives, most of us will face times that are extra stressful or that even shake us to our core. At those times, having strong coping strategies can make a huge difference.
Of course, exercising, focusing on your spiritual life and getting enough rest—and all the other Live Your Life Well tools—can be great supports in difficult situations. Other techniques can be particularly useful in dealing with tough times. Research shows that:
People who spent time writing about a difficult event had better health and less depression. Writers' grades even improved, and they found jobs more quickly
People facing stress felt less depressed after problem-solving
People who often focus on the positives in their lives are less upset by difficult memories
Write It Out
Did you ever write a nasty e-mail when you felt angry but then deleted it? Chances are you still felt better though you didn't send it.
If you've suffered an upsetting event, writing about it can actually make you feel better. That's in part because writing organizes your thoughts, which makes the experience feels less chaotic. Writing also can offer you an emotional release, insight into yourself and the feeling that you can file the problem away.
Some thoughts to get started writing:
Set aside 15 minutes a day for a few days to write about the event and how it made you feel
Don't worry about grammar or artistry. This is just for you.
Stick with it. At first writing about an upsetting experience may be painful, but over time it can help you get past the upset. Keep in mind, though, that if yours is an especially disturbing event, like rape or domestic violence, you might want to do this work with a therapist.
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#naturephotography#wildlife#natureaddict#naturelovers#newzealandfinds#newzealandlife#newzealandlandscape#mentalhealthawareness#depression#beautifulanxiety#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#safarilife#safari#safariphotography#southafrica

3. Smelling. Breathe in fresh air, spray fragrance or take whiffs of a scented candles. Smell the aromas of your favorite dish, which you can cook yourself or ask someone else to make. “When we smell something, its scent takes a direct route to the limbic brain, awakening memories and positive emotions,” Serani.
Hearing. “Listening to music, sounds and a human voice activates the brain’s reward system that releases the feel-good neurochemical dopamine.” I would suggest listening to upbeat music or soothing sounds or even an audio book.
Open your window and listen to “life-affirming sounds,” such as birds chirping, the wind blowing, children laughing or even cars moving.
Touching. Take a shower, which is more like a medicinal tonic, with its warm water and soapy textures. Feel the warmth of a tea-filled mug, the softness of the couch or the comfort of a loved one’s hug.
If you’re able to move your body, take a walk, stretch or run an errand. “When we move our bodies and when we touch, muscles tense and relax, releasing toxins and feel-good hormones and endorphins.” Tasting. Savor your favorite foods and meals. Complex carbohydrates, protein, nuts and leafy greens can boost serotonin synthesis. (Starchy carbohydrates can increase fatigue, she said.) Drink green tea and coffee, which some research has shown may improve mood. Too much caffeine can heighten anxiety and irritability, however.
If you’re experiencing a bad day, just try to remember that stimulating your senses can help you feel better. Thinking about it might help you actually do it and get you back on the road to wellness.
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#naturephotography#wildlife#wildlifephotography#natureaddict#wildlifeAddict#naturelovers#newzealand#newzealandnature#newzealandfinds#newzealandphotography#newzealandlife#happiness#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger

3. Feelings of isolation, stigma and/or shame:
Sadly, there is a stigma attached to mental illness and suicide. Others can’t imagine the mental and emotional pain that would cause a person to kill themselves and so they might make assumptions or judge the deceased’s actions, calling them weak or selfish or who knows what else.
This being the case, it’s no wonder that many people choose not to open up about their loved one’s death. The following are just a few potential causes for isolation, stigma, and shame following a suicide death:
Isolation and shame may result from the family’s decision to keep the suicide a secret. Feeling unable to acknowledge the truth, those grieving the loss may feel as though they have to lie or live in silence.
Shame may result from thoughts of personal blame and responsibility.
Shame may result from the belief that one can’t control or manage their own grief reactions.
Isolation and shame may result from a lack of social support or because others don’t acknowledge the death.
Shame, isolation and stigma may be felt in response to messages from media and broader society about suicide
Isolation may result from perceived rejection and thoughts of worthlessness.
Reach out and stay strong. And remember if you're reading this, and you need someone to talk to, just send me a message and ill be here to listen.
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#naturephotography#photography#mentalhealthawareness#depression#beautifulanxiety#streetphotography#australia#travel#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#natureaddict#australia#australianmemories#goldcoast#queensland#brisbane

Day sixteen : 2. So what can you do?
Well, I am not going to run through all the general grief coping stuff here – take care of yourself, find ways to continue bonds, figure out your coping style. I will mention a couple of things to keep in mind. First and most importantly, when others around you are making you feel like you don’t have the right to grieve the loss of your friend in the way or time that you need, remember that you absolutely deserve the space to grieve. Work probably won’t give you bereavement leave, others may not acknowledge the depth of your relationship, but it is important you remember that you have every right to the grief and devastation you feel.
Something that can help with that is connecting with others who have lost friends. This can be tough because often support groups are for the loss of a spouse, parent or child and, even if it is a general support group, you find it is filled with people who have lost a family member not a friend. Calling/googling around and looking for a group geared toward loss of a friend can be helpful. If you can’t find that in your area, many times local hospices and grief centers are willing to place people in groups with individuals with shared experiences when possible. Talk to your local grief center or hospice and see if they may offer a group that would be a good fit for you.
Lastly, look to music. I know, this seems like a big shifting of gears, but as I was thinking about friendship and the nature of friendship, it got me thinking about music. Though many parts of society don’t validate and talk about the loss of a friend, musicians seem to be the exception to that rule. There are a lot of amazing songs about losing a friend that get at the depth of those relationships and the devastation of the losses.
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#quoteoftheday#mentalhealthawareness#depression#beautifulanxiety#streetphotography#oceanviews#newzealandfinds#newzealandphotography#newzealandlife#happiness#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#natureaddict

1. Aristotle described deep friendship saying, “What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies”. Plato reflected deeply and extensively on the nature of friendship and love and then thousands of years later psychologists helped us understand why friendship was worth these philosophers’ time. Friendship is deep and powerful and amazing, but it is hard to really explain why. If you have a close friend you just know what I mean. No surprise, when a friend dies, like when a family memeber dies, we don’t “get over it”. We learn to live with it. It may get different, it may get easier, but it is always with us.
What is it about losing a friend that is particularly isolating? Why are there so few articles? Why aren’t more people talking about it?
It can change your relationship with other friends.
This is a complicated one, because the reasons this can happen are broad. But it is important because when you are grieving it is often the time that you need support the most and, in some cases, it is the very time that support from other friends can feel hardest to come by for many reasons. Your other friends may not know how to handle your grief, so they distance themselves. Or, you may all be grieving differently and are struggling to support each other. It is also not uncommon to feel a sudden need to distance yourself from your other friends. No matter what the reason, it is important to think about how you can make efforts to maintain relationships or seek other support, so you don’t fall into unhealthy isolation. A good place to start is assessing your support system.
Your friend is who always got you through the tough stuff.
When I think of my best friends, they are the ones I go to when life gets tough: break ups, divorces, financial troubles, school problems and job problems, illnesses, deaths, whatever. When life gets tough your bestie is often your go-to person. So when that person is gone you feel especially alone. You feel desperate, lonely, and devastated and your instinct is to call the one person who is no longer there to support you.
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#mentalhealthawareness#depression#beautifulanxiety

3)
J.K. Rowling once stated that “Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it,” And I find this to be largely untrue. Pain can be avoided almost entirely but the bleakness that accompanies avoiding it cannot. When you constantly run from the past, it wears away the present with a vengeance. You become afraid to love anything fully, live anywhere completely, invest yourself entirely in any new person or venture, for the underlying fear that eventually you are going to leave. That you aren’t going to stick around when the going gets tough. That you’ll be gone and with you will fade all of the sweet, unfinished memories, all of the plans, all of the careful devotions that you promised with uncertain lips. When you’re the person who runs away from everything, you don’t get to be fully present anywhere. You know you won’t be staying so you check out. You check out from everything that makes you the most alive.
When you run away from all of your problems, you eventually run from yourself. You forget the person you could be if you stayed in one place, worked through your downfalls, accepted your shortcomings and then overcame them. You forget that there’s a version of you who is reliable and passionate and strong. You lose the sense of pride you used to have from persevering.
Because when you run away from all of your problems, you run right into infinitely more. You create a world within yourself that must be tiptoed through and gets over-turned with ease. You are a land mine of unfinished wounds that bleed again at the slightest scratch. You find yourself having to constantly run further, harder, faster, to avoid what you are carrying within yourself. The further you run from your problems, the further you run from yourself. And the harder it becomes to eventually find your way back home.
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#naturephotography#photography#quoteoftheday#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#newzealandfinds#newzealandlife#newzealandlandscape#mentalhealthawareness#depression#beautifulanxiety#streetphotography#inspire#influence

2) Except when you run away from all of your problems, you eventually start tripping. First over little things – the cute guy who asks you out but never texts you back. The interview you go to that you inexplicably tank. The things you’re running from don’t explicitly appear in front of you but linger just beneath your mind’s surface – cooing taunts at your newest undertakings.
The problem with running away is that we’re trying to apply a definitive solution to an indefinite, ongoing problem. We’re attempting to tie up the loose threads of our lives before we’ve detangled any of them. We’re putting a bowtie on a monstrosity. We all want resolutions as simple as purchasing a plane ticket, updating our “Current City” on Facebook and moving on with our lives, but we forget that our emotional ties run deeper than that. We forget that we can never fly far enough away from ourselves to escape what it is that lies unresolved within us.
Because the thing is, our issues aren’t imbedded in the places we leave behind or the people we no longer see every day. Our unresolved emotional clutter seeps into every facet of our lives, stealthily enough to remain eternally undetected. It’s the hesitation deep in your gut that balks when new opportunity arises. It’s the sense of self-doubt that creeps in when you’re challenged. It’s the same old pain of trying to write a new chapter without finishing the old one – you do not have a frame of reference to carry on forward. You’re trying to grab at something new with full hands and yet you cannot figure out why you keep dropping it.
Photographer @daviddunhamimages
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#naturephotography#photography#quoteoftheday#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#newzealandfinds#newzealandlife#newzealandlandscape#mentalhealthawareness#depression#beautifulanxiety#streetphotography#inspire#influence

1) When you run away from your problems, it works. Initially.
There is a certain rush that comes from running – it’s the liberating realization that not all problems necessitate solutions. That not all queries require clarification. That not all of the puzzles we face up to with intensity and passion need be solved, settled and packed neatly away on a shelf – labeled “Fixed this” or “Figured out that.” We do not possess the patience or perspective that is needed to arrive at our solutions, so we instead take the easy way out. We run away. And it all seems as simple as that. “You become afraid to love anything fully, live anywhere completely, invest yourself entirely in any new person or venture, for the underlying fear that eventually you are going to leave.” When you run away from your problems, you feel empowered. You are taking your life back by ignoring all the parts of it that do not particularly please you. Mess something up at your job? Not a problem. Fail at a meaningful relationship? No worries. Your problems don’t exist here in this new physical place that you’ve arrived at. Out of sight, out of mind, and for a while you can get off on the absence. You have new things to focus on. You’re thriving.
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#naturephotography#photography#quoteoftheday#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#newzealandfinds#newzealandlife#newzealandlandscape#mentalhealthawareness#depression#beautifulanxiety#streetphotography#inspire#influence

3) How to Lift Someone's Spirits like a sunflower:
Get Moving:
Sitting around feeling sad is unlikely to help your friend feel better, so distract them with an activity that gets them out and about. Go for a walk in the park or a bike ride, or attend an upbeat dance or exercise class together. Exercise can be a quick mood-booster. Help them feel better about themself by trying a new outdoor challenge, such as hiking, zip-lining or rock climbing, to remind them they can be successful and have fun while trying new adventures.
Helping Others:
Encourage your friend to get involved in a community service project. Helping the less fortunate might boost your friend's spirits, be a healthy outlet to form new social bonds and provide new perspective on their own problems, perhaps even making them seem less daunting. Offer to go with them to participate in a home-building venture or serve at a soup kitchen.
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#naturephotography#photography#quoteoftheday#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#natureaddict#depression#beautifulanxiety#mentalhealthawareness#australia

2) How to Lift Someone's Spirits like a sunflower:
Be There:
Your friend might be reluctant to see people, but try to spend some time with them. They likely will welcome the attention from a friend, particularly if they're feeling alone or unappreciated. Stop by with a batch of their favorite cookies and stay a bit to provide a sympathetic ear. Let them talk about whatever is bothering them, if they want to -- sometimes, just being able to give voice to concerns helps ease the burden. Don't try to analyze or solve their problems, just listen. Let them know you care about them and are available to help as needed.
Meaningful Gestures:
Go beyond the periodic phone calls, "thinking of you" notes and occasional flowers by reaching out in a personally meaningful way. A whimsical gift close to their heart. Send them a humorous cartoon or quote via social media each day, giving him/her something to look forward to. Or hide a batch of inexpensive, funny gifts around their home for them to find in a mini scavenger hunt. Figuring out the clues and finding each little gift will brighten their day and help dispel the gloom they've been feeling. Create a "just for you" book of coupons that they can redeem as needed for mood-lifters such as "a chat with a friend," "ice cream treats" or "comedy club outing." Anything special, suitable to their personality.
Photographer: @daviddunhamimages
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#quoteoftheday#portraitphotography#betruetoyourself#thebeesknees#thisisme#newzealand#modeling#newzealandlife#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#mentalhealthawareness#depression#beautifulanxiety#streetphotography#glassons

Day thirteen: Every human being is a unique individual, yet most of us are trying to copy others, out of our desire to conform to a pattern, believing that we are not enough just the way we are. We are searching for perfection by imitating those we consider special. We continuously compare ourselves to others, and as a result we never feel content and at peace with ourselves.
But the truth is that nobody is perfect. Everyone has flaws, and that’s not bad at all. Flaws are actually what makes us human, individual beings with unique characteristics. Imagine everyone was perfect… how ugly would this world be? It would be a sheer monotony — the most boring place to live in.
The moment you compare yourself to others, you demean yourself in your own eyes, unable to recognize the uniqueness inherent in you. When you seek perfection, desiring to become different and special, you will always end up feeling disappointed and dissatisfied — because you already deep down are the different and special being you are seeking to become. And the less you embrace your flaws and accept yourself just the way you are, the more you fuel your inner battle against yourself, causing a continuous state of anguish in your psyche.
You are enough as you are — a unique expression of the universe. Not better than others, not worse than others, but unique in your own way.
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#naturephotography#photography#quoteoftheday#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#newzealandfinds#newzealandlife#newzealandlandscape#mentalhealthawareness#depression#beautifulanxiety#mentalhealth

6. Organize your breaks. If a task takes a long time to complete, take a break from time to time in order to recharge your energy batteries. If you work sitting down, try to walk and move around during these breaks.
7. Reward yourself. Give yourself a reward every time you achieve one of your goals. Spend some time doing things you like such as reading the news or your favorite blogs, playing at something, or talking with someone.
8. Create an appropriate framework. Keep your desk clean and tidy, and remove anything that might distract you. Keep everything you might need handy (even a bottle of water) to reduce the chances of having to interrupt what you’re doing. If you work sitting, having a good chair is essential. If you work in a noisy place you can use headphones to listen to music that doesn’t distract you, or earplugs if music bothers you.
9. Balance your food choices. Besides being good for your health, eating right will help you to be more productive. When you’re hungry it’s really hard to stay focused on something (personally I can’t focus at all if I’m hungry), and if you eat too much, you’ll be overcome by sleep. Caffeine and sugar can help you (in moderation of course).
10 Get enough sleep. In addition to adversely affect your health, lack of sleep negatively affects your clarity of thinking and, therefore, your ability to be productive.
#embraceindividuality#embracethejourney#thebeesknees#photooftheday#quoteoftheday#portraitphotography#betruetoyourself#australia#cityscape#architecturephotography#architecture#graffitihunter#anxiety#mentalhealthawareness#beautifulanxiety#depression#stayingfocused#focus#setyourgoals#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger

In case you missed it, our One Year Anniversary Party was off tha hook. Food, drink, outstanding crowd. It was a great time. Have a scroll through the pics and like.
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And see you at our next one, Friday, March 29th, 8am. Deets to follow. 🙌
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We can all use a bit of childlike amusement in ourselves. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it.
And if your dreams don’t scare you, then they’re not big enough.
The only thing holding you back from achieving them, is yourself. We can be our own worst enemies in so many instances, especially when we don’t believe wholeheartedly in ourselves.
No words have been truer. If you’re a dreamer, dream big and see those dreams as clearly and vividly as the light of day. Write them out in great detail Don’t allow other people to discourage you just because your dreams are big. They should be big enough to scare you half to death. That’s when you know you’ve got hold of something worthwhile.
Of course, nothing worthwhile will ever come easy, but focus is a key reason why some big dreamers are able to achieve outlandish results. Even with all the naysayers and negativity that surrounds them, they push through. But it’s those lofty dreams that help them to move past the potential fear of failure and stumbling blocks along the way.
Don’t be afraid to dream big, because it will alter your focus. It will help to adjust your way of thinking to push you forward rather than hold you back. Ignore the naysayers. There will always be naysayers. Dream big and don’t be afraid to chase those dreams.
If you want to control the direction of just where you’re headed, you have to control your thoughts. When you dream big, your thoughts are steeped in abundance rather than lack. Even if, in reality, you’re living in a state of absolute lack, you’re broke, or you’ve failed over and over again, as long as you can dream big, the direction of your life, and its resultant outcome, will eventually change.
If you’re a dreamer, and you’ve set some serious goals for yourself, then embark on a quest of self-improvement. Work on developing a set of good habits, building an empowering morning routine, and eliminating the bad habits in your life. If you want to fulfill your dreams, then it’s not enough to just envision a better life; you have to actually do something about it.

I have always been a dreamer.
Since as long as I could remember, I would have these wild fantasies and visions of doing and achieving great things in my life. But I’m not alone in that aspect. There are plenty of dreamers out there. And while society might work to dismiss some of us as pure noise, there are enormous benefits to dreaming often and dreaming big.
If you’re a dreamer like me, then we must be kindred spirits. Dreaming involves holding tight to a vision of a better life, one of success and abundance. While getting there might be difficult, having to deal with setbacks and failures along the way, it’s surely well worth it. Anyone who’s achieved a big goal knows just how true that statement is.
Yet, although some of us might like to dream, we all dream differently. We don’t always hold tight to those dreams, knowing that we can and will do anything in our power to make them a reality.
The truth of the matter is that many of us give up on our dreams.
We throw in that proverbial towel when the going gets tough. We give up rather than persist through the torment and pain of another failure.
But being a starry-eyed dreamer isn’t about giving up. Dreaming often and dreaming big actually provides us with a platform for growth and success.
It all starts with the dream.
And, while there are plenty of benefits to living a “normal” life — one of complacency and compliance executed with a subdued spirit — there’s nothing quite like being a dreamer, and having wild visions of a life that you know you’re destined to live, even if you’re not living it today, in this very moment.
Children dream big. It’s part of their genetic fiber — their overall make-up, if you will. They never think small because they aren’t hindered by the standard limitations that hold adults back. If you ask a child what he wants for Christmas, he might say, “I want two swimming pools! One in the backyard, and one in the front.”
While it’s easy to dismiss a child’s dreams as being silly or unrealistic, who’s to say that’s so?

1. Since as long as I could remember, I would have these wild fantasies and visions of doing and achieving great things in my life. But I’m not alone in that aspect. There are plenty of dreamers out there. And while society might work to dismiss some of us as pure noise, there are enormous benefits to dreaming often and dreaming big.
If you’re a dreamer like me, then we must be kindred spirits. Dreaming involves holding tight to a vision of a better life, one of success and abundance. While getting there might be difficult, having to deal with setbacks and failures along the way, it’s surely well worth it. Anyone who’s achieved a big goal knows just how true that statement is.
Yet, although some of us might like to dream, we all dream differently. We don’t always hold tight to those dreams, knowing that we can and will do anything in our power to make them a reality.
The truth of the matter is that many of us give up on our dreams.
We throw in that proverbial towel when the going gets tough. We give up rather than persist through the torment and pain of another failure.
But being a starry-eyed dreamer isn’t about giving up. Dreaming often and dreaming big actually provides us with a platform for growth and success.

As we come off of our kickass lecture and party this past Friday (Thanks to all of you!) - where we explored the idea of Symmetry - this makes a lot of sense, right?
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Keep it balanced and positive, that's when life gets good.
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This is something eye battle with almost on a daily basis. Why are we afraid to be ourselves? I’m talking about FULLY being ourselves 100000% of the time. Something this Cali trip has helped me see is how powerful we feel when we are totally US. Being this “woke” version of myself around family was something eye was nervous about. Nervous because for one, eye didn’t want to have heated discussions on why eye think differently and also eye didn’t want my family to think eye was “crazy”. Thats when it hit me! Eye am CRAZY in the sense that eye no longer follow what the world thinks eye should be doing and eye want EVERYONE to know it. Eye was also able to explain my journey which was welcomed with open arms. Lesson learned is that we don’t always know what’s going to happen next and NO MATTER WHAT the outcome may be, we should always be our TRUE SELF 10000000% of the time. LETS STOP ASSUMING THE WORSE WILL HAPPEN !! The real ones that love you will accept you and if they don’t, why even bother in caring about their opinion🤷🏻‍♂️ LOVE
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#selflove#beyourself#love#peace#abundance#woke#embraceindividuality#power#strength#life#trust#family

2) Here's my suggestion: take some time and identify the 3-5 most important values and qualities you strive for. I'm not referring to a specific goal here, but an aspiration of how you want to relate to yourself and others in the world. Is it kindness, passion, loyalty, adventurousness, something else? There is no "reaching" these qualities; they are guideposts we can anchor our thoughts, actions, relationships, and life goals to. When you reflect on your past relationships and behaviors, how do they stack up to those values you identified? If they don't match up, consider it a free learning opportunity to identify what you might do next time that does reflect your values. Often we don't spend much time appreciating how seemingly mundane interactions are all opportunities to reflect our ideal selves, but this is a good way to drastically change your life for the better.
The desire to achieve or be something "perfect" often reflects a mind trying to cope with the fact that we are imperfect by design, and is often an attempt to overcompensate for anxieties or perceived insecurities and provide a sense of control in our lives. We don't always have control over the situations that befall us. We'll have good days and bad days, we'll love people and people we love will leave this world in expected and unexpected ways. There's no avoiding the fact that life is both beautifully happy and at times incredibly sad and difficult defying any logical explanation. We're presented with opportunities in life, some we'll take and some we'll pass up. The irony is that you can really only make sense of it in hindsight, and you never know exactly what a particular experience will mean to you in life because it tends to change over time. The best I can offer is to buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Photographer: @daviddunhamimages
#EMBRACEINDIVIDUALITY#embracethejourney#naturephotography#newzealandfinds#newzealandlife#newzealandnature#newzealandlandscape#focus#Adjust#life#goal#updown#ride#thebeesknees#photooftheday#quoteoftheday#newzealand#tauranga#travelphotography#travelholic#travelblogger#natureaddict#depression#beautifulanxiety#mentalhealthawareness